Reidsville to open kids' club

Looking for a fun place to take your kids while you go out for date night? Look no further than Scales Street with the grand opening of Downtown Kid’s Town, which is designed to give parents a place to take their kids after school and get them away from the television and back to being active.

The club is set up with video games, arcade games, a dance floor and a snack bar. Children are encouraged to socialize with other children and get active through dancing.

Owner Deborah Dowell wanted to work with children and find away to get them moving again.

“Downtown Reidsville has nothing for the children to do,” Dowell said. “I’m trying to get them away from sitting around the TV and having something to do and come out and socialize at night.”

The idea came to Dowell after moving away from Reidsville, where she was born and raised, and to Myrtle Beach. Dowell said a gentleman at the beach owned a club similar to this, and her eldest son would go every weekend, and most of his elementary school friends would be there too.

Dowell returned to Reidsville due to an illness in her family. She discovered she would have to travel to Eden or Greensboro to throw a party for her children, and that discouraged some of their friends from attending.

“It was so inconvenient,” Dowell said.

Dowell said bringing her business to Reidsville might encourage people to come to more birthday parties, which is also something she offers. People are encouraged to rent out the club for birthday parties.

Dowell is currently putting together themed party packages and already has the Disney Princess vanities for a princess party where girls will be treated to having their nails and toenails painted. She would also like to host a cowboys and Indians theme or a star wars theme for the boys.

Dowell has had such good word of mouth that she has already booked several parties for once her business is open. She encourages high school students and adults to rent out her space, which also offers a banquet hall in the basement, despite the business being designed for children from ages 5 to 15.

“We’re focusing on that age, but it’s for any age,” Dowell said.

There is an $8 dollar entrance fee for children, and that includes access to most games, though there are a few quarter or 50-cent machines and food can cost up to $3.

Dowell is trying to use local vendors for everything, including renting video games locally, serving pizza from Dominos and serving hot dogs from Café 99.

Some of the games give out tickets which can be exchanged for prizes. There will also be a photo booth available for children to take pictures with their friends and then purchase the photo as a 5x7 or in a keychain. Additionally, Dowell will also sell several novelty items to the children.

A contest will be held every night, whether it is a potato sack race or a crazy dance session. Dowell said this is intended to keep the children active and moving.

Currently Dowell has four employees, but she hopes to increase that number, depending on how many people are allowed in her business. Safety inspections will determine that before the opening on Friday.

Safety is also important to Dowell, who said she has a $1 million dollar liability policy. She’s also making sure children go home with the right people by checking identification before a child leaves with a parent.

Dowell said she went through specific fire inspections, including adding a fire hall and adding an alarm to the backdoor, which will be monitored to make sure a child doesn’t slip out the back.

She has also made sure that the club is handicap-accessible so any child can partake in the events held at the facility.

Soon Dowell hopes to hold theme nights including church night, beach night and more. She also hopes to hold Zumba and Latino classes there.

Downtown Kid’s Town is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for ages 5 years old-9 years old and 8:30 p.m. to midnight for kids 10 years old to 15 years old. Children 5 years old and under are also welcome but a parent must be present at the time.

There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the business on Friday at 10 a.m.

Downtown Kid’s Town is located at 231 South Scales Street next to Creative Hair.